The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has attributed the tragic boat mishap that claimed the life of Nollywood actor Junior Pope and four others to human error, not mechanical failure.
Speaking at a multi-modal transportation stakeholders forum in Abuja on Thursday, NIWA’s Managing Director, Bola Oyebamiji, revealed that the fatal incident on the Anam River in Anambra State in 2024 occurred due to passengers’ disregard for safety protocols.
“It was not mechanical failure, not impediments in the water or weather challenges, but purely a flagrant disregard for rules and regulations guiding movement on the inland waterways,” Oyebamiji said.
He added that some of the passengers on board had rejected life jackets offered to them before the tragic event occurred, a decision he described as a serious setback to the agency’s efforts to improve waterway safety across the country.
Citing the incident, Oyebamiji called on all water users to support NIWA’s campaign for stronger safety awareness on Nigerian waterways.
The forum was attended by key figures in the transport and aviation sectors, including the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo; Director-General of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau; Director-General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency; and the CEO of Air Peace Limited, Allen Onyema.
Junior Pope lost his life in April 2024 when the boat he boarded capsized around Cable Point at the waterside of River Niger in Asaba, Delta State.
He was returning from a film shoot for the movie Another Side of Life, produced by Adanma.
